Gator golfer Billy Horschel set to begin pro career

On Monday, Florida golfer Billy Horschel was named an All-American for the fourth consecutive year. Next week, the senior will play in his first pro event, the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, which begins next Thursday. Horschel has been granted a sponsor exemption to play.

Horshel is just the fifth Gator golfer to be named an All-American four times. Matt Every, Gary Koch and Camilo Villegas are the only others  to earn First Team honors three times, and Horschel is the only Gator to earn three First Team honors and a Second Team honor.

“I’m extremely happy for Billy,” head coach Buddy Alexander said. “He’s worked hard and he deserves this.''

Florida women's golf coach resigns after 11 seasons

Jill Briles-Hinton, the former PGA Tour player who has spent the past 11 seasons as the head coach of the Florida women's golf team, abruptly resigned Monday night, saying someone else needed to take the program to the next level.

The resignation came just two days after the Florida women's team finished 16th at the NCAA East Regional, which the Gators hosted. Florida was the reigning East Regional champion.

Just last season, Briles-Hinton was named SEC Coach of the Year.

“I want to thank Jeremy Foley and the administration for this tremendous hands-on learning experience,'' Briles-Hinton said in a statement released by the athletic department late Monday night. "They took a chance on me and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity to get on-the-job training at the University of Florida. The program is better off than when I started, but I feel it is time to step aside and let someone else take it from here. I enjoyed my time at Florida and now I’m looking forward to spending time with my family. I hope to get back into coaching someday and look forward to again helping young golfers achieve their dreams.”

A 1986 graduate of the University of Miami, Briles-Hinton took over the head coaching position at Florida in 1998. The Gators advanced to the NCAA Championships six of 11 years under Briles-Hinton, earning its best NCAA finish under Briles-Hinton - sixth - in 2006 and 2002.

She was named the 2008 SEC Coach of the Year after leading UF to the league title – the program’s eighth overall title and first since 1995. Florida claimed its first NCAA Regional title in 2008 with its one-stroke victory over top-seeded Duke.

"I accept Jill's decision because I believe she made it in the best interest of this program,'' UF athletic director Jeremy Foley said. "The women’s golf team has had some shining moments under Jill and the players have traditionally performed well in the classroom. We wish her well in her future ventures. Our vision is that the women’s golf team is consistently among the contenders at the NCAA Championships. That simply hasn’t happened and now we begin a search for a coach that shares that vision.”

Former Gators finish 1-2 at BMW championship

Former Gator golfer Camilo Villegas won his first title on the PGA Tour with a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Championship on Sunday. Fellow UF alum Dudley Hart shot a final round 65 to finish second.

Villegas shot a 2-under 68 for a two-shot win over Hart, who birdied the final two holes and earned a trip to the 2009 Masters with his highest finish in two years.

Villegas, a native of Colombia, finished at 15-under 265 for the tournament and earned a $1.26 million payoff, almost doubling his earnings from the rest of the 2008 season.

"It's awesome to be here,'' said Villegas, who sank three big putts on the back nine on Sunday to clinch the title. "Hopefully, it's the first of many.''

With the victory, Villegas moved up 23 spots into second place in the FedEx Cup standings. Hart moved up 53 spots in the Cup standings to 14th place and earned a spot to compete in the final event in Atlanta in two weeks.

Villegas and Hart were both four-time All-Americans at Florida. Villegas was a member of the 2001 NCAA National Championship team.

UF golfer earns SEC sportsmanship award

Freshman golfer Jessica Yadloczky has been named the female recipient of the inaugural SEC Sportsmanship Award, joining Tennessee basektball player Chris Lofton as the male recipient.

The winners will be forwarded for nomination to the NCAA for its national sportsmanship awards, which will be announced in July.

Yadloczky's best finish was a tie for  second at the Northrup/Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.  On the last green, during the second round, she saw her ball had moved after she addressed it.  She did not realize she needed to replace the ball to avoid further penalty and then putted out.

Immediately after the round, Yadloczky reported the situation to UF head coach Jill Briles-Hinton, but because she did not replace the ball before she putted out, the penalty was two strokes.  She ended up finishing second in the tournament by just one stroke.

The SEC awarded Yadloczky, saying "because of her sportsmanship, she has brought honor to herself, to her school and to her sport.''

Added Briles-Hinton: “Golf is by nature a game of honor. The
players are responsible for reporting any infractions and imposing their
own penalties. No one saw the ball move on the green other than Jessica. She gained no competitive advantage, but she knew that she had made a mistake and she rectified the error knowing that she may have put herself in position not to win. She is a great young lady, and always wants to do things the right way.”

Yadloczky finished fifth in the SEC with her season average of 74.00 strokes per round.  She helped lead the Gators to the SEC title and to a ninth-place finish in the NCAA Golf Championships this season.

Women's golf team holds off No. 1 Duke for regional title

Florida took a three-shot lead into Saturday's final round of the NCAA East Regional, then shot a final-round 10-over 298 to edge three-time defending NCAA champion Duke for the Gators' first NCAA Regional title in school history.

Fourth-ranked Florida finished 19-over 883, while top-seeded Duke closed at 20-over 884. Georgia finished third at 25-over 889.

“This team continues to show a lot of heart,” UF coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. “I am so proud of what they have done to pull this off. Our team shows that it never quits and just keeps fighting.”

The top eight teams qualified for the NCAA Championships, which will be played May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M. Joining Florida, Duke and Georgia will be Auburn (894), Virginia (898), South Carolina (899), Wake Forest (899) and Furman (900), which edged NCAA host New Mexico by one stroke to earn the final NCAA Championship bid.

Golf in second after regional first round

The women's golf team ended Thursday's first round of the NCAA East Regional in second place behind Duke.

The Blue Devils finished the day as the leader with a 285, followed by the Gators (290) and South Carolina (291).

Women's golf begins title hunt led by 16-year-old

The women's golf team will open today in the NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga., on a quest for their first regional title and hoping to qualify for the NCAA championships in Albbuquerque May 20-23.

In case you missed it, here's a story about 16-year-old Hannah Yun who has quickly become a star on the Gators' team.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/colleges/article493763.ece

Golfer Horschel named to Palmer Cup Team

Junior Billy Horschel has been named to the prestigious United States Palmer Cup team, announced Tuesday by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

The eight-player U.S. team will compete against the top collegiate players from Europe in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition, June 26-27, at the Glasgow Golf Club Gailes Links.

Horschel is the only returning member from last year’s victorious American team and posted a 4-0 record during the matches at Caves Valley. The United States, who will be coached by Stanford’s Conrad
Ray, leads the series, 6-4-1 but has lost the last two competitions in Europe. The U.S. won last year’s meeting by an 18-6 margin.

Horschel is a three-time All-SEC First-Team selection.

Golf coach is SEC Coach of Year

GAINESVILLE - Three days after leading her team to Florida's first SEC championship since 1995, women's golf coach Jill Briles-Hinton was named SEC Coach of the Year on Wednesday.

She is the first Florida golf coach to receive the honor honors since Mimi Ryan in 1984 and 1985.

Four Gators were also named to the All-SEC teams.

Freshmen Jessica Yadloczky and Hannah Yun were both named to the SEC All-Freshman team, in addition to receiving first team All-SEC honors. Senior Whitney Myers earned first-team All-SEC honors and senior Tiffany Chuddy was named to the second team.

Women's golf earns SEC championship title

The women's golf team earned its first SEC title since 1995 with a victory on Sunday.

It was the eighth title in Gator program history, and the first for UF coach Jill Briles-Hinton

No. 5 Florida posted a tournament-low 284 to claim the title by 17 shots, completing a wire-to-wire finisht at the Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn.

Florida finished the tournament at 10-over 874. No. 12 Arkansas finished second at 27-over 891.
The 17-shot margin of victory was the largest this decade at the SEC Championship and the largest since Georgia won the title by 18 strokes in 1999.

The Bulldogs finished third on Sunday with a total of 903 (+39). Auburn was fourth at 910 (+46) and South Carolina was fifth at 915 (+51).

Florida’s final-round 4-under 284 was the only under-par round of the tournament and tied for the fourth-lowest round in school history. The 2008 Lady Gators now own four of the top six team rounds in program history. Florida’s second-round 293 was the next lowest round of the weekend by any team.

Florida freshman, 15-year-old Hannah Yun captured runner-up honors with a final-round 72 that put her at 1-under 215 overall, one shot back of the leader.

Florida will now await a bid to an NCAA Regional, May 8-10, at one of the three designated host sites. The tournament venues are in Athens, Ga., Sacramento, Calif., and Austin, Texas. The regional tournament leads up to the NCAA Championships, May 20-23, in Albuquerque, N.M.